This invention relates generally to seat belt systems, including buckles, retractors, webbing and tongues, and more particularly to an assembly useful in a seat belt system which includes an automatic locking belt retractor.
Seat and shoulder belt systems, such as those typically employed in passenger vehicles, include an automatic retractor device for collecting excess belting and providing tensioning for the system. The system may include, for example, a spring-biased spool for urging the webbed belt around the spool and thus into the retractor. Once the seat belt and shoulder harness are secured by buckling, the excess belt is retracted.
In systems including certain automatic locking retractors, the belt will pay out of the retractor only after the belt has been fully retracted. One drawback of such systems is that the belt may therefore cinch down on the occupant, and the tightened condition cannot be relieved without removing the belt and retracting it fully into the retractor. During a rough ride, the occupant may be pushed or bounced down into the seat, at which time the retractor recognizes the slack in the belt and retracts the belt eliminating the slack. When the seat attempts to move to the original position, the retractor will not pay out webbing, and the occupant is restrained in the lower position.
In prior U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,832,410 and 4,919,484, a seat belt buckle assembly is disclosed which overcomes the cinching problem by providing a mechanism to offset the tendency of the retractor to collect all the slack in the belt. The mechanism includes a means for collecting a portion of the extended belt in lieu of collection by the automatic locking retractor, and then paying the belting back out to compensate for movement in the vehicle seat.
Nevertheless, there is always a need for an improved seat belt system which overcomes the cinching problem of systems including an automatic locking retractor. For example, seat belt systems which collect and pay out a seat belt may cause the seat belt to move relative to the occupant, thereby resulting in chafing of the occupant. Therefore, a need exists for a seat belt system which minimizes chafing. Such a seat belt system would also overcome the cinching problem of systems including an automatic locking retractor.